Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

 If you know me you know I L.O.V.E spaghetti squash!!! It's a great alternative to pasta (which is my downfall since I'm a carboholic) & it's a vegetable (which I'm very selective on which ones I eat since I hate most veggies lol). 

So for me spaghetti squash is a win win. However cooking it the same way every time can get boring so I am always looking for ways to spice it up.

Came across this Au gratin recipe online & thought I would give it a try! So easy to make & delicious at that. This will be a keeper in my weekly meal plan. 

Ingredients:

- 1 medium Spaghetti Squash

- 2 Tbsp Butter

- 1 small Yellow Onion (diced)

- 1/4 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

- 1 Tsp Thyme

- 1/2 C Plain Greek Yogurt

- 1/2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

- Minced Garlic, Black Pepper & Salt (to taste)

- Olive Oil

Directions:

1) Bake spaghetti squash in oven at 350 degrees for approx. 45 mins

2) in a skillet on medium heat, add butter, onion, red pepper flakes & thyme. Cook until onion is golden brown

3) scrape insides of squash & transfer to bowl

4) combine squash, onion mix, Greek yogurt & 1/2 the cheese together. Mix well

5) transfer to oiled baking dish with remaining cheese on top

6) place in oven at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until top is golden brown 

Healthy Chicken Parmesan & Spaghetti Squash

I found this recipe on FitnessRx website. It was my first time trying spaghetti squash let alone making it.. so pretty nervous on what the outcome would be... this had to be the BEST thing I have ever made!!!! It is definitely going to be a weekly meal. I have no idea why I never tried this before.

Ingredients:

CHICKEN PARMESAN

(2) 8oz chicken breasts, raw

1 egg white

¼ cup unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup Fiber One cereal

1 TB Italian seasoning herb blend

½ tsp garlic powder

½ cup tomato sauce (w/ approx. 60 calories)

¼ cup low fat mozzarella cheese

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

2.5 cups cooked spaghetti squash (1 small spaghetti squash)

1 tsp olive oil

¼ cup minced onion

Salt & pepper, to taste

How to Prepare

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Celsius. Coat a small baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Add Fiber One cereal to food processor and blend until breadcrumb like consistency. If you don’t have a food processor, you can put the cereal in a plastic bag and crush with the back of a heavy spoon.
3. Put Fiber One crumbs into a Ziploc bag and add the Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white and almond milk until well blended.
5. Take one chicken breast and dip both sides into egg mixture, and then put into Ziploc bag. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Seal then shake the Ziploc bag until both chicken breasts are even coated with the Fiber One mixture.
6. Place the chicken breasts onto the baking pan and place into preheated oven for 25 minutes, turning once, halfway through cooking.
7. In the meantime, coat a skillet with cooking spray and add 1 tsp olive oil and onion over med-high heat. When onion is tender and slightly browned (approximately 5 mins), add the cooked spaghetti squash.
8. Sauté squash with onion mixture for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat, and let sit in pan.
9. Remove the chicken from the oven and evenly layer half of the tomato sauce then half of the cheese onto each breast.
10. Put back into the oven and broil (you must change oven temperature setting to Broil) for approximately 5 minutes, until cheese is fully melted.
11. Apportion half of the spaghetti squash and one chicken breast onto a plate. Share the other portion with a special someone or save for leftovers tomorrow. YUM! Enjoy!

NUTRITION DATA

Per serving (serves 2): 417 calories, 68 grams protein, 16 grams net carbohydrates, 9 grams fat

Flat ab February End Results

As promised I will share with you my secrets to a flat tummy. This month I solely focused on getting my six pack back... funny thing is I did not perform 1 crunch. That's right, you heard me. My results were solely from nutrition factors. Switching up my diet && continuing my workout plan I have been on. So here are ten things I changed this month to get my abs back.

1) I carried around a 32oz water bottle with me all day && drank 32 ounces 8 times a day
2) Started my day with a glass of green tea & ended it with a glass of green tea
3) started paying attention to my fiber intake & went from not even 15g a day to 30g a day
4) ate every 2 hours
5) I am an extremely picky eater (especially when it comes to vegetables) so I tried a new vegetable each week & was surprised to find out that I love zucchini! So now I make vegetables a snack
6) cardio! I started doing empty stomach cardio one day a week as soon as I wake up to blast that tummy fat
7) PORTION control.. paid attention to what a serving size was and stuck to that... though for a couple days I was starving my stomach got used to it.. Also all my meals had to fit in a 4x4 to go box
8) Workout routine: I've been sticking to Chalean Extreme & lifting heavy weights
9) went from two cheat days a week to one every two weeks!
10) started a stretching routine I do before bed every night (specifically targeting the core)



Have a Facebook? Follow my Fitness page FIT MAMAS HERE

Six weeks to 6-Pack Abs

There are no excuses!!! Moms can have abs too. The past six weeks I have been doing the Chalean Extreme Workout program & could not be more pleased with my results thus far. I am halfway through & so far this is my favorite workout routine! I never really realized how heavy I could actually lift... & since I've started lifting heavy I've been getting leaner. Yes ladies.. I am SMALLER by lifting heavy weights.. no bulk here. Not to mention my abs are starting to show through from just one ab workout a week! This is my soul mate workout.

Order Chalean Extreme HERE

Watch the infomercial HERE

Abs Abs Abs

It is February 1st!!! So you know what that means... Flat Ab February is upon us! I am so excited to be sharing some of my favorite flat ab workouts, advice & secrets all month long. Since getting a flat & toned tummy is something I get lots of questions about I have dedicated this entire month to just that! By March you will be equipped with all the knowledge possible to get that tummy in bikini shape. To take part in this just "like" my fitness Facebook page Fit Mamas HERE

I get the most compliments on my abs... especially from moms wondering how I did it after having a baby. Well you all know I did P90X after having my son.... but I did not do the ab workouts. I honestly HATE working my abs. Instead I added extra balance challenges to each exercise that would make me work harder to keep my core stable. Between that & lots of cardio I got my 6 pack back! Plus when working with new Moms our abdominal muscles are not connected like they used to be pre-pregnancy. So doing some of the typical "ab workouts" can make things worse rather than better.

So no ab workouts for me. Crazy huh? We are all used to going to the gym each day doing 100s of sit ups & working our abs to death on all these machines... Which is great... but that is only building the muscles!!! You need to burn the fat off that is covering those puppies! Which can easily be done through clean eating & like I mentioned earlier... CARDIO!  Now don't get me wrong... having an ab routine is awesome. Personally though I don't feel the need to work my abs out all too often & what I do works for me. If you are one of those people who love working your abs make it a split routine... work them 2-3 times a week. If you over do it you can get into what is called "overtraining" & you will not see results. 

Now just because I personally don't work my abs out all that often doesn't mean I don't have awesome flat ab tricks & tips. But it surprises a lot of people that I have the stomach I do without much effort (in the gym that is). Stay tuned all month long to find out exactly how I get & keep my flat abs.

Flat Ab Questions

I am now taking questions you may have concerning "Flat Abs"... For my February series it will be a month full of flat ab tips, workouts & me answering your questions. So I need YOUR HELP!! To make my posts more specific to what YOU want I need some suggestions. 

So head over to FIT MAMAS and message me your questions or you can email them to me at: Larissaklimenko@aim.com

Flat Ab February

The questions I get asked most often are typically about achieving a "flat tummy"... There is a lot more that goes into that then you think. Sure doing 100 sit ups will build muscle but that is not going to get your "6 pack" showing. In all honesty your DIET is what will give you the flat tummy you have always been wanting. Like I said, you could go to the gym and do 349825693487 ab workouts but it won't be worth anything if you have a layer of fat covering the muscles. 

So in February I have decided to do a month series titled "Flat Ab February" loaded with tons of flat ab tips, secrets & workouts. To take part in this all you have to do is head over to Facebook and like my fitness page "FIT MAMAS". At the end of the month I will update my blog with all the tips but I'm sure you don't want to wait the entire month to find out my flat tummy secrets!

Get my Flat Ab tips HERE

Certified Personal Trainer

Well it is official! I took my personal trainers exam today and passed! So look out.. This girl is now a Certified Personal Trainer & ready to change lives!!!

I could not be more excited. August 2012 I decided to quit my path into nursing school and follow my dreams of working in the fitness industry. I feel if you go to work everyday doing something you love and you have a passion for it will not feel like work. 

It will not be easy to get to where I eventually want to be.. but I am willing to put in the hard work and get there one client at a time. 

The next step for me is to get my Therapeutic Exercise Specialist Certification within the next six months so I will be better equipped to work with the clients I am most interested in (Special Populations). Since after having my son I have first hand experience of what it takes to get your pre-pregnancy body back I would really love to focus on natal & post natal women. Cancer patients also interest me since it hits close to home. 

I am excited to begin this amazing journey and make all my dreams come true (:

Are you or someone you know interested in becoming a personal trainer or fitness instructor? the American Council on Exercise has all that and more! Check out the certifications ACE offers HERE.

If you are not interested in any of that but want to learn more about living a healthy lifestyle ACE offers free workouts & nutrition info with plenty of recipes. Check all that out HERE.

Workouts

Are you a fan of my fitness page FIT MAMAs on facebook? If so you have been seeing all month long my daily workout move posts. If you aren't I would suggest "liking" the page right now ;) It is a fitness page for anyone interested in fitness tips & motivation.

ANYWAYS! I have been posting the workout videos on my blog everyday but they are not on my main page. They are under the "A Workout Move a Day to Blast the Fat Away" tab. Go see them HERE

We are on day 21 so there are still ten days left of the series. 

In February I will be doing "Flat Ab February" so if you want tips & secrets to getting a nice toned & flat tummy like Fit Mamas HERE

The Next Fitness Star Audition

I sent in my submission for Women's Health Next Fitness Star Competition & just thought I would share my submission video with you!

I demonstrate three of my favorite exercises using what I like to call my "magic pill"... bands. By incorporating them in my routine I am adding more resistance WITHOUT lifting weights!!!  Body weight exercises are pretty popular right now because you can do them anytime & anywhere. I add to that by using exercises that target multiple muscle groups at once so you can get in a quick, effective workout in a shorter amount of time.

You can enter in the contest as well HERE until Feb 1, 2013.

Beachbody Transformation

It has officially been one year since I have been able to workout after having my son. I decided to FINALLY make my transformation video... This was all done through Team Beachbody Programs. My goal was to lean out/ tone up and lose the last of my baby weight. I started out with P90X Lean schedule, moved on to P90X2 and Brazil Butt Lift and completed a 2nd round of P90X2 (it's by far my favorite program lol). I also started drinking Shakeology daily which helped a lot. So enjoy (: !!!

I became a coach after completing my first Team Beachbody Program because I knew these programs worked and wanted to help others get their dream body. Being a mom and working full time doing home workout programs was the only option I had at the time since I could do it whenever I wanted. I used to get home from work at 9pm, put my son to bed and workout at midnight everyday just to get it through.

If you would like me to be your FREE coach click HERE

To Order shakeology HERE

To Order Team Beachbody programs HERE